The chatterbox in me

AWwwwWWW….sakiiiitnya…sakit bah… su..sah bah… My stumps have been aching ever since my Mount KK climb. All muscles supporting my femurs sand tibias are so so sore that I flinch at every move. The image on the other side of the mirror portrays a much tanned me with some pimples popping here and there. My throat’s damn sore and itchy and flammy and my nose choked with mucus…. Am I complaining or what………..?

Nevertheless, I never regretted every bit of that trip. It was a whole new experience to go to a new place and spending the way I wanted to without joining any pricy tour packages. It was a whole new experience to meet new ppl and tried out some Japanese and German with them. I felt damn good when they responded. hahahha. At the lodge…."Viel Spass. Wo in Deutschland kommst du aus? Ach so"  　While mountain climbing…."やまのいちばんうえへもういきましたか。すごい。よろしく"  "げんきですね。ふたりだけ？もうすこしだけ。がんばってよ。"

The Ching Fong now has a lil’ higher level of confidence in her capability to travel solo, has seen a lil’ wider horizon, knows a lil’ on the significance of ‘bah’ in the Sabahan slang, a lil’ on how to get around KK, and a lil’ on not labelling fair ppl as Chinese in Sabah. She also takes pride for achieving her goal for the year to conquer Mount KK. She thinks if everything goes as fine as this, she won’t stop making more goals!

Now..now..a job is waiting for her and she has to get back on track to make a living.

Here I am back at home typing from my own PC again. Got back in the wee hours this morning at 1.30 am. Since then, been chomping on tonnes of rambutans, 2 packets of junks etc etc while reminiscing the last 6 days spent in KK. The adventure and the first time experiences were something hard to believe to have happened in my life.

Nevertheless, went to the local clinic this morning for 3 reasons.

1. coral spikes in my foot
2. skin rashes
3. sore throat

The black spikes have been implanted in my right foot all the while when I climbed Mount KK, incredible! The lifeguard at Sapi Island told me it would do no harm and let it be and that in half an hour’s time, I could run and jump. Hahaha… but why is it still hurting after 3 days.

So, this morning , the clinic staff took a needle and dig my foot. AWWWW…!(in silence).Basically that’s how tattooing feels, I guess. After the digging, apparently there was some finishing to do too…trimming the skin flaps and applying iodine…fuh!

I did not do UMS or Gan, Sam and Jenny any justice by missing this point. UMS is so damn nice as the landscape is nice and the impression that the building are on slopes and seen far away adds to it’s credit. The Marine Science faculty especially is situated by the seaside with a sandy beach and a port. I simply envy the students here, to be able to come for beach activities at their own campus without even needing to go to the city centre.

Trip to KK has been going fine other than having to fork RM 332 for another departure ticket yesterday. Was a bad start to a well and long planned solo trip here, however, I am not going to let that spoil my trip.

It’s so so damn hot here in KK. The sun rises as early as 6 am and by 6.30, it’s already half way above my head. The sky is so clear and the cloud is scarce during the day. And the direct sunlight is really disturbing to me. The people here seem oblivion to it and I seldom catch them using an umbrella. That explains why they’re seriouusly tanned. I feel sticky all over me, to me, it’s another version of Thailand whereby, the area is still developing, pretty noisy, dusty and hot and I get sticky all over once I step down from my lodge.

This lodge here is pretty cool. Free internet, breakfast, shared tv with Astro and bathroom for just RM18 per night for a dorm stay. My other room mates are the real backpackers with huge typical backpacks beside their beds.

The trip….I just got back from a Tamu visit to Kota Belud, believed to be the most popular in Sabah. However, to my disappointment, there weren’t any horse shows or even buffalo races as expected. The horses belongs to the Bajau ethnics. When asked, a local grandpa who conversed with me in mix Malay, Hakka, English and Mandarin said this only happens during big big events such as the Keamaatan and Tamu Besar. Tried some local kuih made of tapioca and pumpkin among others of various colours and textures and the tapai(fermented rice). The minibus(van)to and fro took 1 hr per trip. Oh, one more thing, ppl here seem ignorant to this but yikks… horse dung or is it cows’ or buffalos’ is everywhere on the street and so, it’s normal if one accidentally stepped on it. Luckily, i didn’t.

Yesterday, when I arrived here in KK. The first thing i saw at the airport exit was Waja taxis and Innova pickup trucks. Cool man, the ppl here are pretty well-off. Four wheel drives like Land Cruiser and, Trevor(am I right?) and Innova can be seen everywhere. It’s due to the condition of their landscape, I suppose. As i was driven by friends in the city, the buildings are quite ok but the shop lots apparently are 2 storeys of separate shops with their own balconies. Higher up are houses. The street pedestrian bridge crossing the main roads are extended and linked to these balconies and into the first floor of shopping  plazas. Along the coast, the blue sea can be seen, nice and blue and the seawater could be tasted in the air.

UMS is hilly with faculties located far apart. But the architecture are pretty impressive. The Dewan Chancelori for example is like a twin tower with a linkage bridge in the middle and this building is situated on a slope. Can be seen from other part of the uni..and that makes it impressive and another admin building was built with flights of stairs to it just like Batu Caves’.

It’s believed that Warisan Plaza and Central Point Plaza are among the popular plazas here. Althouth currently the widest here but it’s no competitor to Mid Valley. Pretty unorganized.

Ate something new yesterday, believed to be originated from The Phillipines. It’s at Sinsuran night market, held every night. As I strolled the market, I came to a point where hawkers bbqed fishes. Looked simply plain, plain bbq fishes and the other side, some tables were lain with plates of dishes on them. I took the challenge to try it. True enough, although topped with some grinded chili sauce, the fishes were a bit bland, yet fresh. The weirdest to me was the various fresh raw seaweed served on the table. I later learnt that they were to be eaten by soaking into thick black sauce+lime+cilipadi+sugar+salt mixture. The raw seaweeds’ taste was still there as the mixture was pretty watery but the crunchiness remains.

When you see people your skin and face, don’t think they belong to your family. I stumbled upon a few to ask for directions. The first thing they said, I’m not a Chinese. Obviously, I started of in Mandarin here. hehehe. Realizing my mistake, I had to speak in Malay …It stroke me that I’m lousy in Malay now. Can’t string a grammatically correct sentence. Just how many years have I not used it as regularly as I used to???…hmmm…just 4 years and it has deteriorated. Even the grandpa I befriended in Kota Belud(KB) this morning spoke to me in a mixture of Hakka, English, Malay and Mandarin. He was sitting at one of the stall at the Tamu when I heard his conversation in Hakka and asked him bout the horse. Eventually, I learnt that not only he but also the stall hawker married Dusun. The Dusun’s are so damn fair (they own the faces of Chinese) and a few times this granpa by the name ABC (Always Be Careful, hahah) corrected my mistake. hahaha…

It happened only 2 days ago. Had had it planned earlier and I set off early in the morning by Rapid KL. My lack of street sense led me to come off the bus few stops in advance and I walked searching high and low for Changkat Tong Shin. Checked into the guest house and off I went to KL Tower. Again, I walked, that’s part and parcel of being a traveller, walking, and walking and walking while sight seeing. Seriously, one can’t do that from the bus window and the next thing u know, u stop at ‘

Holland

’. So, there I went walking and walking and walking , backstreets, lorongs, passages…main streets, up the slope to KL Tower in a tee, khakis and casual sandals…the typical traveller’s attire. The difference here was just this traveller carried and umbrella with her.

Here I was at the bottom of the tower, nice view, nature walk ..apparently, a forest reserve right in the city. OK, take me in. So I went with another family…..with kids. Intro myself…yea I’m Malaysian first time here ..yea…apparently the family’s also Malaysian bringing their kids here due to the school break. Which forest doesn’t have mosquitoes? Imagine my legs after that walk, mosquitoes…you’re damn lucky nourishments for you early in the morning. For your infos (mine too..hehe) , the fruits of a rubber tree explodes when they’re ripe to disperse the seeds to the grown, the chewing gums are the products of a Jelutoh or is it Jelutong tree, bamboos can grow to a max of 4 metres a day. WOW! Oh and monkeys do feed on wild durians. We saw it with our own eyes.

Next, I went to

Times Square

. That’s actually my ultimate purpose to KL. Not for shopping but the first dance festival being held this whole week. Dances ranged from belly dancing to Algentine Tango, Hip Hop to Latin, etc. Free workshops and performances were available. Cool…! Voluntary participant for the workshops were initially mainly of the older generations and kids but later the numbers of youths picked up as well. Totally agreed when a free lesson voucher at ‘The Dance Space’ to be given to a sporting uncle for his performance in Belly Dancing. The performances by the pros at night were even better. Especially the couple doing the Latin disciplines… In their striking and revealing costumes, they did everything just perfect, sharp and expressive and I felt I was watching ‘So U think U can Dance’, live.

My stay at the guest house was just as good. The place was just perfect for a good night’s sleep with an air conditioner though I don’t use one at home. Guess that’s specially built for the foreign guests. What kept me awake was maybe sleeping in a foreign place and the sound of the snoring guy below me. Being a solo traveller prompts me to strike a casual conversation with other travellers. So, there’s this guy just arrived the same evening by a train from

Singapore

. A Scottish at  27 who did not seem his age, also short for the Western standard. He had been away travelling from home for 14 months now. Well, can I do that? Am I willing to go that long? I heard myself asking…hello hello… tut……………

At the living room, I was watching Astro’s Travel and Living. Someone joined me. Hmm……..smells good and the roti canai in his hands caught my attention. You want Discovery Channel.. ok.. whatever…I’m reading a mag now..Apparently, he confessed that he’s addicted to our very own Roti Pisang , bought from across the street. Actually, who doesn’t..the smell was tempting and I heard every crisp of his bite. The next guy whom I later found out was a Pakistani who voluntarily told me his preferences of

India

. “The foods are spicy and great. I prefer the village to the city. The view’s magnificent.”

6.30 a.m, was the first to …no second after the guy below me to wake up the next morning. Forced myself to sleep the whole night, needless to say with intermittent wakes. I had promised myself to not to let go the opportunity to go up to the KLCC skybridge. It’s free but one has to get there early for the pass. KLCC, the current highest twin towers in the world standing at 452 metres with 88 storeys. I can be sure with the figures right now. But please..don’t ask me next month.

The elevation up to the bridge was fast . so fast that one can feel the pressure difference at the ear drum. The door opened, and the passage was right in front of me. Felt the cool air or was it from the air conditioner… whatever …oh the sights…I don’t have any WOW words here..but yea.. the satisfaction was there. The satisfaction that I’ve seen KL from the top.

Next, Aquaria…I hate to admit it but I tagged along with instead of led a mom and daughter from

Perth

to the Aquaria KLCC. School break.. so uniform-clad kids were everywhere other than families with kids. At the convention centre, the adults with working attires were seen due to the concurrent SMIDEC convention here. Other than fishes, there were sharks , terrapins(tuntung) and turtles swimming  before your eyes at the Aquaria. It’s like viewing them as a diver from underneath without getting yourself wet especially from the tunnel.

Overall, I had a great satisfaction completing my first solo trip. It was an enriching experience discovering my capabilities to be a  solo traveller from decicing, planning up to executing which included finding the way especially in the night and bad weather besides being responsible for own safety. At the end of the day, I know the relative location of a landmark in KL better but still with a lil’ of prior going round and round and round. Basically, it’s not always smooth sailing as a traveller and one really must have the stamina to walk, the gut to ask, the willingness to cramp in….etc.. The opportunity to mingle around with other travellers was another plus.

Regrets: no camera, too ego to ask for guides